1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming technique for a printer, a copier machine, a facsimile machine and the like, and more particularly, to an image forming technique which uses a liquid development method as a development method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known as image forming apparatuses which use a liquid development method include a structure in which a liquid developer applied uniformly upon a surface of a developer roller (liquid developer carrier) develops an electrostatic latent image created on a latent image carrier and an image which is not uneven (toner image) is created. The following have been proposed as a technique to uniformly applying a liquid developing agent upon a surface of a developer roller. For instance, in the apparatus described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-72692, after scooping up a liquid developing agent with an anilox roller (application roller) whose surface has concave sections, a regulating member abuts on the anilox roller, and the amount of the liquid developing agent on the anilox roller is restricted. The regulating member abutting on the anilox roller, imposing a restriction in this manner, scrapes off the liquid developing agent from the surface of the anilox roller, leaving only the liquid developing agent carried in the concave sections of the surface of the anilox roller. Hence, the amount of the liquid developing agent on the anilox roller is measured accurately to a value which corresponds to the capacity of the concave sections. As the liquid developing agent accurately measured in this fashion is applied upon the developer roller, the accurately measured liquid developing agent is transferred to the developer roller and a uniform layer of the liquid developing agent is formed on the developer roller (See Patent Literature 1 for instance.).